


EXCEPTION TO THE RULE

by schlerm



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, High School, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-02-08 10:16:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21474349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schlerm/pseuds/schlerm
Summary: Shuichi is a complacent high school student with a crush on his social butterfly classmate, Kokichi, and just might take an opportunity to shoot his shot.
Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 29
Kudos: 89





	1. Soon, or Later

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all!! This is my first DR fic, so be gentle lmao. I’m not sure how far I wanna go with this universe, but depending on what I get for feedback, I might wanna go deeper into couples besides OumaSai... idk!!  
Thanks for reading ;w;

Shuichi Saihara was never the type to have hard opinions. He could never pin-point his favorite movie, ever seem to pick a favorite song, or even identify a favorite color. If you asked, each of his high school subjects were equally as interesting as the last, and insisted to his friends and family that no girl in particular seemed to stand out to him. Shuichi had even been approached by admirers on separate, rare occasions… but courtship just didn’t come naturally to him. So, predictably, nothing ever came of it. 

Most of his classmates would consider him overall nice, but unremarkable. It was rare for Shuichi to engage with anyone outside of his small friend group: a tight-knit circle who had been so since their early middle school years. The others had no problem making friends indiscriminately, but in the vicious, fast-paced biome of pubescence, Shuichi was in over his head. 

However, he was mostly content with his honor’s-list grades and mundane life. 

It was a Friday morning, and just like any other day, the group had congregated to their ‘designated’ table in the cafeteria as they waited for first period. One by one, the buses and parents dropped off those who got rides, and last but not least, came his friends old and wealthy enough to drive themselves in. 

The morning ritual never varied. Kaede was always the first to arrive, her dad dropping her off on his way to work. Shuichi never really knew how early that was, because he was always second. 

He was a senior this year, and even though he was 17, his uncle didn’t have the money to put into driver’s ed classes, or a second car for that matter. So, he caught the bus every morning without complaint, got to school, and took his seat next to the person he was closest to in the group. 

Kaede always had something to talk about, which was a relief to Shuichi. Whether it was about her upcoming piano recital, or a test she was dreading, or the girl she had been madly in love with since freshman year: the boy was always willing to listen to his best friend, and provide conversation and feedback where he could. 

After a few minutes of catching up between the two, next to show was always Rantaro and Korekiyo from their bus route. They had been neighbors since Rantaro moved to town in elementary school, and quickly became inseparable. Shuichi couldn’t remember exactly how many years ago they began dating, but it was long enough to earn them ‘married couple’ taunts from the rest of the group. Secretly, Shuichi envied their effortless bond. 

The two tallest of the group sat across from Kaede and Shuichi, and the girl did the honor of catching them up to speed on her anecdote. They lazily held hands and Rantaro always gave the exact reaction Kaede was looking for, earning him a special thanks before she continued with the story. 

The conversation would carry on until Kiibo made his way to the table, always dressed in his famous ‘Sunday best.’ The class president was usually clad in a button up shirt and ironed khakis, but since today was a self proclaimed casual Friday, he toned it down to a modest polo shirt and dark jeans. 

Upon sitting with the group, he always directly addressed everyone with a good morning and a smile, soon after, harassing the friends to see who completed their homework. It never failed that Rantaro was the only one to forget, and after batting his eyelashes at Kiibo a few times with his ‘pretty-pleases,’ the white haired boy would blush and slide his completed homework towards Rantaro to be copied, always swearing it was the last time. 

And fashionably late on a daily basis were Kaito and Maki, pulling up in his cherry red sports car that was gifted to him on his recent 18th birthday. They were long time friends, but newly an official couple. Since they had gotten together, the two squirreled away with each other too often for it to go unnoticed. This agitated the more organized members of the group, (AKA Kaede and Kiibo,) when the black haired couple blew off plans to roll around in bed together, but Korekiyo always reminded that this was only their honeymoon phase. He insisted all couples went through it. 

On this particular day, the bell rang as Kaito and Maki entered school grounds, consequently missing this morning’s huddle. The rest of the friends were dismissed in their separate directions, well versed in the long halls of the school as they headed off to the appropriate rooms. Kaede motivated Shuichi with the idea that their Friday night ritual was now only a few hours away, and with that, the day had truly begun. 

Shuichi’s first period was Economics, and that had him feeling a couple different ways. On one hand, he wasn’t much of a morning person. If he didn’t set more than one alarm, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he’d slept til the late hours of the afternoon. And days when he had stayed up entirely too late abusing the internet, Kaede would have to poke the back of Shuichi’s head when he started to doze off during their early morning English literature lectures. But as much as he’d love to lay his head on the desk and snooze away, there was a redeeming factor to this particular morning class. 

The truth was, when Shuichi insisted on not being interested in any of the girls in the school: he technically wasn’t lying. During at the beginning of the year, he was assigned a seat next to his biggest crush: a small, out-spoken underclassman named Kokichi Ouma. 

Upon entering the room, Shuichi’s heart jumped into his throat to see that Kokichi was already in their seat, people standing around the table to get a few last words in to the beloved figure before the teacher insisted everyone found their places. 

The two had met on the first day of Shuichi’s junior year, when the 9th grader Kokichi was assigned to shadow the taller boy. They chatted all day, and Kokichi listened with an eagerness that was very becoming of him, noted Shuichi. 

The younger one was incredibly smart, and focused. In fact, he was the only one close to dethroning Kiibo as class president this year, (which obviously filled the reigning champ with disdain.) He was widely recognized and liked among his peers, which helped significantly when running for the position, even as a 10th grader. Shuichi envied this about him. It was almost like he was sitting next to a superstar, because everything about Kokichi was magnetic and frankly, beautiful. 

As he took his seat, the boy was greeted with a smile by his tablemate, “Goodmorning Shuichi Saihara~” Kokichi’s lips curled at the ends and looked over at him with narrowed purple eyes. 

“Goodmorning Kokichi.” Shuichi answered, and sat down as he arranged the items from his backpack onto his desk, avoiding the paralyzing sting of his crush’s stare. 

Thankfully, the teacher commanded everyone’s attention and soon after, class began. 

Once he was sure the other boy was turned to look at their instructor, Shuichi stole another glance at Kokichi, scanning him up and down from the corner of his eye. 

Today’s outfit was a favorite of his, always loving the way Kokichi looked in a skirt. Eyes traveling up his legs, starting from his petit sandaled feet to the bare smoothness of his calves and along the line that the knee-length dress made up Kokichi’s body, even as they sat. Shuichi almost smiled as he saw the way the oversized sweater gave his crush floppy fabric paws that waved as he shared an opinion with the class, commanding attention from everyone in the room. The way his purple hair bounced as he was passionate about an argument made Shuichi’s heart patter, feeling like he was melting under the fires of Kokichi’s personality each time the boy shared a thought to the class. 

But it wasn’t just his looks that had Shuichi head over heels. Kokichi also was one of the only people outside of his friend group that paid any attention to him. Even if it was just for 45 minutes a day. 

Kokichi always began with a conversation on the previous night’s assignment, which Shuichi would happily take part in. However, If time allowed, and their chatter continued, the conversation would sometimes get personal, giving Shuichi little glimpses into the life of his muse. 

Because the lovesick boy couldn’t possibly share that his free time was spent edging himself to the idea of bending Kokichi over the teacher’s desk and teasing him with his dick until he was  _ begging  _ to be filled, he would conjure up another part of his days off to share. Like, helping his uncle attempt to fix the water heater in their apartment, resulting in a small electrical fire that forced all of the buildings tenants to vacate into the snow on a freezing December morning last year. Or like the time he and Kaede accidentally ‘stole’ someone’s dog while walking through the park, only noticing that it followed them home when it darted into the house as soon as she opened the front door. 

Kokichi listened closely, looking very present and nodding when Shuichi spoke, always offering a reaction and a story in return. It was times like these that Shuichi wished desperately that he did more socializing, because maybe then he would know how to take their daily conversations to the next level.

As the school year began to wrap up, the two of them had actually become pretty familiar. In fact, he was certain that if someone asked Kokichi if they were friends, he would reply with a wide smile and something embarrassing when he could just say ‘yes.’ This realization was warming to Shuichi’s heart, but he didn’t know how much merit there was to the title. Kokichi could probably call 95% of the student body his friend. 

The lesson went on, and eventually the students were allowed to work with the person at their table as they read and completed a handout. This was much to Shuichi’s delight, always finding that class work with his crush was the highlight of his mundane days, until he turned to look at Kokichi. He was haunted by the same mischievous gaze that he spooked him this morning. The catty grin made Shuichi’s heart jump into his neck. 

There was something about that smile that screamed ‘trouble.’

Looking at the paper before him, he cleared his throat, “So, do you wanna split the reading, or…” 

“Mr. Saihara, what are you doing this weekend?” 

Shuichi blinked. He glanced up to see Kokichi’s chin rested lazily in his palm, his lashes batting once. Then again when Shuichi didn’t answer fast enough. 

“Like, are you busy?” He questioned again, trying to break the other boy out of his trance. 

“Oh… uh, no. I’m not.”  _ Finally.  _ An answer. But not a very tactful one. 

“That’s great!” Kokichi held his head up and clasped both palms together excitedly, “That means you can make it to my party~”

Oh  _ shit. _

“Uh, hah, a party?” Shuichi’s voice wavered, “like a party-party?” 

“Uhhh, duh!” Kokichi looked confused for a second, but continued to smile, “What else would it be?” 

“Oh hah, I dunno.” Shuichi recognized just how lame that response was as it left his mouth.

Another second of silence. 

“So you’ll come?” Kokichi insisted again, reaching out to tug softly on the hem of his partner’s sleeve, “It’s tomorrow night!”

Shuichi’s face was on fire, and he stared down at the nimble fingers that gave another tug on the fabric as Kokichi spoke again, “I will never ever ever forgive you if you don’t show.” The words were still saccharine sweet, but carried a heavy threat. His hand gave up on the tugging and instead pressed softly to the skin above Shuichi’s elbow. In a split second, the flustered boy’s mind wandered and imagined how that feather soft touch would feel on hi—

“Alright, I will be there.” Shuichi threw a wrench in the cogs of his dream-like state and gave the only answer that Kokichi would accept. 

“Yaaaaaay~” the purple haired boy withdrew his hands to clap softly. The spot on Shuichi’s arm suddenly felt cold, “Here, I’ll write down my address and the time!” Kokichi chimed, and within a matter of seconds, he handed Shuichi a small pale yellow sticky note with the ever so familiar bubbly script on it. 

“But listen,” Kokichi leaned in close as the boy scanned over and over and over the text on the note, hoping this wasn’t just some kind of cruel joke, “do NOT tell anyone.” The underclassman’s smile dropped as if to convey the severity of the matter, “I’m only inviting my favorite people.” The grin returned with a wink and he sat back up straight, leaving Shuichi with a lot to think about as Kokichi began the reading for their assignment. 

There wasn’t a chance that the student was absorbing any of this. His face was on fire, his heart was racing, and his mind was blank. Kokichi had broken him. 


	2. Later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! ;-; I’m sorry for the delay on this chapter, plZ enjoy!!!

_ Favorite people._

_ Favorite people._

_ Favorite… people._

These words plagued Shuichi for the rest of the school day. Mostly for the reason that… he couldn’t even begin to think of who else might have shared this title with him. 

Every time he had seen Kokichi, he felt like the people around him could have been anyone. He was friends with all, but close to none. 

There wasn’t even a particular group he sat with at lunch. He would just cycle through the tables weekly, gracing even most undeserving persons with his presence at some point. 

At this point, the whole school could show up and it wouldn’t have been surprising. 

  
  


The next day came sooner than anticipated, and it was already well past noon when Shuichi’s eyes cracked open, assaulted with sunlight that beamed into the room through slim windows. He groggily remembered that he and Kaede had fallen asleep on the floor of her basement after watching YouTube videos til the early morning hours, polishing off a bottle and a half of her parent’s merlot and several platefuls of pizza rolls. 

With a groan, he slid up into a sitting position, piecing together the conversations from the night before. Shuichi looked over to his friend, who was curled into a stray couch pillow that she’d pulled onto the floor about a foot away from where the boy had just risen from. Kaede’s blonde hair started to come loose from her lazy bedtime bun, but as always, she looked remarkably charming. Snoozing peacefully in her sweatpants pants, tank top, and no makeup, Shuichi was always envious of how she managed to just… _ look _like that. 

Because he, on the other hand, wasn’t so graceful in the morning. And that was especially true today.

He dragged his feet as he wandered into the bathroom, recoiling at his reflection. 

Wine-stained pinkish lips, bloodshot Eyes, and hair that looked more like it belonged to Kaito. Not to mention that somehow, he’d managed to put his shirt on inside out _ and backwards. _

God, from the damage Shuichi suffered, he thought it seemed more like they spent their Friday night doing lines somewhere out o-

Wait. 

_ Friday? Then today is... _

“Kokichi’s party!!” The boy spoke to his reflection and scrambled back into the parlor where a still Kaede lay, undisturbed. Shuichi’s hands jabbed through the woven blanket that he had usurped entirely in his sleep from its shared position, desperate to check the time. 

A few panicked moments were soothed by finding his phone, his heart starting to beat again when he realized it was only about 1pm. 

Kaede was woken up soon after by the rustling sounds of her friend tidying the basement floor: the clink of empty wine bottles against each other and a weightless empty pizza box. 

Shuichi apologized, and nudged her further awake with the reminder that he was supposed to ‘help his uncle repaint the bathroom’ this afternoon.

After all, Kokichi insisted on keeping the party a secret. 

The boy felt a little guilty about lying to his best friend, but he would tell Kaede the truth come Sunday morning. Depending on how it went, of course. 

The next hour was dedicated to cleaning, vomiting, cleaning again, and then showering. Once the pair were more comfortable with fresh clothes and rehydrated with about a gallon of Gatorade, they took the trip to bring Shuichi home in Kaede’s father’s SUV. 

Because the Akamatsu residence was only a few minutes out of the city’s center, the drive was relatively painless. Before either of them could even threaten carsickness, Kaede pulled into the roundabout of Shuichi’s building. 

He gathered his backpack and overnight bag from the seat behind him and thanked Kaede politely. Still buckled into the driver's seat, she blew Shuichi a kiss and he returned the favor, the effeminate gesture making him smile bashfully. 

With a final wave goodbye, he used one key to unlock the door to the building, and then after traversing the halls and a couple of staircases, another on the door to his apartment. 

Shuichi was somewhat relieved to see his uncle’s keyring gone from the bowl near the door. He was thankful to be alone, for the time being, figuring he could try and sleep off the headache he’d been nursing since waking up on the floor earlier that day.

Much to his dismay, as he laid in his unmade bed, all he could do was play through scenarios. 

Ones in which he shows up for the party and finds out he was given the wrong address, only after an angry stranger comes to the door.

And another one where he notices everyone whispering amongst themselves, giggling, only to realize a minute too late that someone had tagged the back of his shirt with an expletive riddled insult via sticky-note. Each impossibility scarier than the last, Shuichi began to consider whether or not he should even show. 

He held this consideration heavy in his heart as he crawled out of bed and into the bathroom. 

And as he washed his face. 

And combed his hair out. 

And even as he meticulously found a matching pair of socks. 

He only came to terms with the fact that he was actually going when he was standing at the front door, his shoes tied, keys in his pocket, and directions open on his phone. 

Once leaving the house, Shuichi felt a small wave of relief rinse over him. The biggest decision was out of the way, and now all he had to do for the next 40 minutes was focus on catching the right bus and navigating the rest of the way on foot. 

Whereas earlier, he was worried mostly about what the other guests at the party would torture him with, he remembered now that _ Kokichi _would be there. This was his party, after all. 

Shuichi blushed hard at the thought of seeing the boy in his own space, where he spent his free time. He panicked a little at the prospect of even slightly maybe _ possibly _ getting to see _ perhaps a glimpse _ of Kokichi’s bedroom.

Goosebumps. 

He boarded the city bus on time and shook off that idea. Shuichi would be lucky if he even got in a conversation with Ouma tonight, considering how popular the underclassman was. He reminded himself that he still had no idea how many people were showing up, but he couldn’t imagine that it would be a small group, since even _ he _was in the sampling. 

The ride was quiet and bumpy, people lining the seats, shoulder to shoulder. Half way through, Shuichi forfeited his seat for a pregnant woman and her toddler, to whom he insisted that he didn’t mind standing for the rest of the trip. 

It was only a few more songs through Saihara’s headphones until he’d gotten to the stop closest to The Ouma Manor. He bowed politely to the driver with a silent ‘thank you,’ and trotted down onto the sidewalk.

For the majority of the walk, his mind was blank. 

Stirring constantly with shapeless anxiety, but blank. 

Shuichi had completed the second half of the journey on foot, and was horrified when he made it to the residence. According to the directions app on his phone, he had arrived… to a gated home. It was massive in size, at least three stories tall, with evidence of a pool peeking out from behind the house. 

The even scarier part?

_ No sign of a party. _

Saihara double, then triple checked the address, confirming to himself that this was it. 

After blessing himself with a few words of affirmation, a technique he’d learned from his therapist, he set off to press the buzzer. Shuichi stepped back, expecting it to take a few minutes to gain access. Probably through yelling into some sort of speaker, then having an awkward conversation to try to explain to Kokichi who he even was… but instead, the door unlatched in an instant, almost like someone was waiting by the receiver. 

Always trying to explain his problems away, Saihara chocked it up being set to open automatically for the influx of party attendees that were on the way. In this scenario, he just… must have been the first person to show.   
Once through the gate, it was just a matter of traversing the front walkway, a couple steps towards the front door, and then timidly giving a few thwaps to the knocker. 

He saw a figure approach through the stained glass, (probably Kokichi judging by the height,) that seemed to peer through the peephole, giving no indication of letting him in. He lifted his hand in some sort of disarming wave, which must have worked, because a second later, Saihara heard the door unlock and start to creak open. 

In it’s wake stood the petit socialite that he had come all this way for. Shuichi had imagined all the things that he might see Kokichi in tonight, but he wasn’t expecting this.   
“Good evening, Saihara-kun~” the younger boy’s voice was saccharine and smooth, but that was the last thing Shuichi was paying attention to when he gave him an initial once over. He was draped in a silken pink nightie that barely passed the middle of his thighs, and fuzzy white house slippers.   
“Hi- uh, i-is this…” the boy on the porch paused in his question and tried to collect himself, “Is this not a good time…?” The question may not have made much sense, but considering the host of this illeged ‘party’ was dressed only in a set of feminie night clothes, it was an option that made more sense to Shuichi than an unquestioning response.   
“Nehehee~” There it was, that precious laugh, “Come on in.”   
This was not even _ close _to any version in Shuichi’s earlier anxiety. 

He was led in by the pull of Ouma’s soft hand, and once they stood facing each other in the foyer: complete silence. 

“...”

“...soooo~” Kokichi was the first to speak, leaning in to grab both of Shuichi’s pathetically clammy palms. He was staring up at him with those beautiful purple bed-me eyes, and that in itself gave the older boy a few horrible ideas. 

“Ah! Oh, um…” 

Another beat of silence. 

“Thank you… for inviting me.” 

“You know Saihara-kun,” Kokichi took a step in, “You’re _ funny. _” It was obvious that he wasn’t talking about the slapstick kind either. 

“F-funny?” Shuichi could feel his face start to heat up. 

“Mhm!” The answer was simple, and _ menacing. _

“Well haha, thank you?” There were no more words exchanged, but there was something much better shared. Or maybe it was worse. 

A kiss.

Kokichi rocked up onto his tippy toes, and their lips met. It was seamless and gingerly, and the first time Shuichi had ever shared that kind of moment with someone else. 

When the purple haired boy sank down to his heels again, Shuichi blinked, staring, mouth agape. And in another instant, Ouma dropped one of the boy’s hands to pull the second one, tugging him along and further into the house.

The upperclassman could barely focus on the details as eyes were trained on Kokichi. Wordlessly, he was led down a hall and up a flight of too-fancy stairs. He remembered seeing gold frames adorn the walls, maybe an expensive looking vase in the corner? But the only thing that really held his attention was the way Ouma’s ass swayed as he walked up the stairs in front of him. 

The only time he stopped to look at something else was when the boy in front stopped at a door on the second floor. Shuichi glanced up at the closed door, then back at Kokichi, who was peering over his shoulder, one hand on the knob, threatening to turn it. 

“No shoes allowed in my bedroom.”

Shuichi gulped. 


End file.
